Miami Hurricanes baseball head coach Jim Morris has reason to smile as most of his recent recruits are headed to Coral Gables, instead of opting to play Major League Baseball. Because of this, UM will officially sign one of the top classes in the nation for 2013.
Friday’s 5pm deadline has passed, which means two current players who could’ve gone pro will return and four other highly-touted recruits will head to Coral Gables.
Left-handed pitcher Bryan Radziewski, Miami’s best, and right-hander Javi Salas are headed back for another season of college ball, instead of entering the minor league systems for St. Louis and Minnesota, respectively.
The four newbies who will join the Hurricanes’ program are outfielder Wilie Abreu, right-handed pitcher Derik Beauprez, catcher/first baseman Zack Collins and outfielder Jacob Heyward.
Abreu was chosen by Cincinnati in the fourteenth round, with Beauprez taken by Boston in the twenty-fifth, Collins to Cincinnati in the twenty-seventh and Heyward to Atlanta in the thirty-eighth.
The two that got away were expected to go pro – Matt McPhearson and J.D. Underwood. McPhearson is a center fielder from Maryland picked up by Arizona in the fourth round, while Underwood was a junior college pitcher at Palm Beach State who was selected by Los Angeles in the fifth.
Four solid additions and two veterans who could’ve taken the payday but are choosing to come play for Morris and the Canes.
Best news this program has had in a long while as Miami has gotten burned often come Draft-time, losing some quality talent. Let’s see what it all means for 2014.